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Ondine

Ondine

A Finnish success story...

The roots of Ondine date back to 1985 when founder Reijo Kiilunen released the very first Ondine album under the auspices of the renowned Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. The label's initial mission was to produce one live album at the Festival each season. The fourth album, however, featured Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera Thomas (ODE 704-2), raising major international attention and opening the ground for overseas distribution. Kiilunen, who was running the Festival's concert agency and had begun the recording activity part-time, soon decided to devote himself fully to the development of this new business, producing and editing the first 50 releases himself.

In 1991, Seppo Siirala joined as producer, and the Helsinki-based company has been expanding steadily since, currently numbering six full-time employees. Ondine has released 400 carefully selected CDs, Hybrid SACDs and DVDs, with around 250 titles remaining in its active catalogue. The label's discs enjoy wide international distribution and are also available for digital download from several online outlets.

Over the years, Ondine has established itself as one of the most respected labels in classical music, and its products have received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards, the BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Classical Internet Awards. In a larger context, Ondine's history of success has played a part in the strong development of Finland's cultural visibility internationally, which has gone hand in hand with the economic and technological rise of the country since the mid-1990s. The label of origin "Made in Finland" is today widely recognized as a guarantee of exceptional quality and reliability and Ondine is proud to have shared in the forging of this reputation.

Artists include legendary conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and the renowned award-winning soprano Soile Isokoski.

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Further Reading: Ondine

  • Robert Trevino on Respighi's Sinfonia drammatica

    2nd Jul 2026by James Longstaffe

    With the release of his recording of Respighi's rarely-performed Sinfonia drammatica, the conductor talks about his previous album of the composer's Roman Trilogy, his thoughts on the reasons behind the Sinfonia's relative lack of performances, and why he feels that it is one of the greatest pieces that Respighi ever wrote.

    Classical Interview

  • Robert Trevino conducts Respighi's Sinfonia drammatica

    5th Jun 2026by James Longstaffe

    Robert Trevino and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI make a thrilling, highly persuasive case for a work that has received relatively few recordings to date, with a performance full of rich strings, portentous brass, and beautiful woodwind solos.

    Classical Recording of the Week
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